Hiei scowled as he prowled through the upscale apartment, systematically checking each room. The apartment was in a high-rise building in an affluent suburb and probably cost more a week than Hiei's entire salary for three months. And his salary was quite generous.
Expensive looking paintings hung in the hall and the rooms were richly furnished. During his search, Hiei found that the apartment had three bathrooms. Hiei knew that this apartment was home to only one occupant. Why did he need three bathrooms? What a ridiculous waste of money.
Hiei was entering the kitchen when he felt something brush against his pants leg. He quickly spun and pressed his back to the nearest wall, gun raised as he scanned his immediate surroundings. There was no one there.
A soft meow made Hiei look down. An ugly hairless cat gazed up at him with clear blue eyes. It sat on the tiled floor, it's posture prim and proud, as if it were a monarch surveying its' subjects. Around it's pale neck was a gold collar. It's wrinkled little face and large eyes reminded Hiei of those Roswell aliens.
"Fuck," he muttered, furious with himself for being so jumpy. He glared down at the cat, his crimson eyes blazing with irritation.
"Get lost," he told it. It didn't move. "Shoo," Hiei tried, waving his hands at the creature, gun still clutched in his right hand. The cat stood and began to rub itself against his leg, purring. Hiei groaned and tried to nudge the little beast away with his boot. He'd never been fond of animals.
The faint sound of a key being turned in a lock made Hiei freeze. Mentally, he cursed himself again. The guy was early. Fifteen minutes early. Shit. Shit. Shit.
The cat darted towards the door as it opened and the apartment's occupant stepped in. Hiei kept himself out of sight behind the kitchen door, praying that the man wouldn't enter the kitchen and see him. Just in case, he held his gun at the ready, his ears straining for every small sound. He kept his breaths even and quiet.
"Hello, sweetheart. Who's a good girl? Who's a pretty girl?" the man cooed, presumably to the cat.
Pretty? Was this man delusional? That thing wasn't pretty. That thing was hideous, Hiei thought. The sound of footsteps coming towards Hiei made him tense. But the footsteps continued past the half-open kitchen door and into the living room. Now was the perfect time to make his move.
Hiei tucked his gun into the waistband of his pants before he stepped out into the hall, making sure to tread lightly. The man's suit-clad back loomed in front of him. Hiei approached him quickly and hooked one arm around his pudgy neck, squeezing hard.
The man struggled, trying to kick Hiei. Hiei's stance was firm and his weight balanced. He didn't budge. Weak, choked sounds came from the man's mouth. His fingers scrabbled at Hiei's cloth-covered arm, trying in vain to free himself. His nails dug into Hiei's flesh through his shirt, but Hiei did not let up the pressure. Geez, why did his nails have to be so long?
A mere three years ago Hiei would have not been able to do this. His short stature made it impossible for him to overpower someone larger than himself in this manner. Recently he'd had a growth spurt and was now taller than most people of Japanese descent. It ultimately made his job easier, though it had taken some getting used to.
The man finally fell silent and still, sagging in Hiei's grip. Hiei waited several seconds, just in case the man was faking unconsciousness, before releasing his captive. The man collapsed to the floor, a dead weight. Hiei massaged his aching arm as he observed the figure at his feet.
He was a portly man dressed in a black business suit. His hair was black and close-cropped. Drool slid down his chin. Hiei noted the expensive looking watch on his wrist but made no move to take it. He wasn't an idiot. Those things were too easy to trace.
He dragged the man into the living room and lifted him into the armchair. It put a strain on Hiei's arms and back as his victim was not light by any means.
Hiei stepped back when he was done, observing his work. The man was slumped in the chair, one arm hanging over the armrest. His head drooped limply to the side, resting on his shoulder.
"Meow."
Hiei looked down to see the hideous alien cat sitting beside him, observing her owner in an odd parallel to Hiei. Hiei wondered what was going through the cat's mind, then brushed the thought away. It was an irrelevant distraction and one he couldn't afford to indulge right now.
Hiei dug around under his jacket and retrieved two strips of cloth. He used one to tie the man's hands in front of him. After that he knelt and did the same to his ankles. Then he gagged the man.
Almost done, Hiei thought with relief. He took several steps back, then glanced down at the cat, who hadn't moved. Sighing, he picked up the cat and walked into one of the bedrooms. He'd noticed a cat carrier in there earlier, while he'd been scoping out the apartment.
The feline took one look at the cat carrier and hissed angrily at Hiei. She wriggled in his grip, trying vainly to free herself. Hiei mercilessly stuffed the furious creature into the carrier and took it into the hall. He set it down by the front door and returned to the living room. Indignant yowling followed him.
His victim hadn't shifted in the chair, still out cold. Hiei stood about a meter away from him and raised his hand. He concentrated on the palm of his hand. For a moment, nothing happened. The only sound was the offended mewling of the cat in the carrier.
Then Hiei felt a warm tingle run up his arm and into his hand. His hand began to glow faintly red. And then flame gushed out, hitting the man in the face and chest. The man's body jerked as he awoke and tried to move. Muffled screams could barely be heard coming from his mouth. Orange flame continued to flow from Hiei's hand, quickly engulfing the man and the chair he sat in.
Hiei savoured the power surging through him. It was hot and raw and exhilarating. He felt in this moment as though he were capable of doing anything, like those superheroes he'd read about in comic books. His physical body had no limitations.
But he was no hero, he knew.
Hiei stopped the flow when the man's body no longer twitched. He stood there, his crimson eyes reflecting the glow of the flames as they continued to burn. Sparks flew, causing small spot fires to flare up as they found fuel. The smell of acrid burning flesh hit Hiei's nose. It was a scent that he was all too familiar with. It had ceased to bother him.
The shrill sound of the smoke alarm woke Hiei from his trance, making him wince. Time to go. He walked out of the room and picked up the cat carrier from the floor before exiting the apartment, closing the door firmly behind him. Even if someone rushed in there right now, it was too late to save the man. Hiei was certain that he was already dead.
He wasn't even particularly sorry that he'd been the instrument of the man's demise. Hiei didn't know him. He was a complete stranger. For Hiei, this was just a job. If the man hadn't wanted to die, then he probably shouldn't have pissed off Hiei's employers.
Hiei walked down the hall with the cat carrier. It's small occupant was screeching with a volume that rivalled the fire alarm. Hiei didn't encounter anyone else until he entered the stairwell. Below him, a steady stream of people snaked their way down to the ground floor. Their voices echoed in the cramped space. Hiei trailed them down.
When he exited the building, he took a deep breath of clean air. Well, clean compared to where he'd been, anyway. He was sure that Tokyo's air could never be called 'clean'. He set the cat carrier down on the pavement and released its prisoner. The cat never even spared him a glance before she bolted away, streaking down the sidewalk as if being chased by a nightmare. How ungrateful.
Hiei left the empty cat carrier on the sidewalk as he strode down the street, dark coat fluttering behind him. Perhaps that was what he was. An unnatural creature born of unholy methods. A nightmare. Humanity's nightmare.
-0-
Hiei glared at the short grey-haired doctor as he stuck a sharp needle into his arm. He couldn't help but wince at the sting.
"Almost done," Doctor Ichigaki said cheerfully as the syringe began to fill with thick red liquid. When he pulled the needle out and placed a white cotton ball against it, Hiei automatically reached up to press it into the small cut with one finger. The doctor turned away to cap the syringe. Then he turned back to Hiei. Hiei removed his finger from the cotton ball as the short, wrinkled grey-haired doctor taped it down.
"Show me your other arm," Ichigaki instructed.
"Is that necessary?" Hiei demanded. "It's the same as before."
"I'll be the judge of that," Ichigaki snapped at him.
Hiei sighed and began to roll up his sleeve. He didn't want to look at it but his eyes were drawn to it nonetheless, as were Ichigaki's. Hiei was certain that the little troll was practically salivating. Bastard.
Hiei's arm was streaked with inky black lines. To the uninitiated, it would look very much like a tattoo. But Hiei had never gotten a tattoo. The black marks had appeared on his wrist shortly after the implantation of his jagan eye and had spread slowly up his arm.
Hiei didn't want to admit it but the marks scared him. Even Doctor Ichigaki didn't know what they were. All he had revealed to Hiei was that he suspected they were linked somehow to the jagan eye, as they seemed to spread every time Hiei used his third eye. For that reason, Hiei used the jagan sparingly.
Ichigaki's fingers ran up Hiei's arm, tracing one of the longer marks. Hiei shivered as the man's touch left goosebumps on his skin.
"Hmmm…" Ichigaki said thoughtfully.
"Are you done?" Hiei barked. "Just sign the damn paper and let me out of here."
"Patience, young man. Patience," Ichigaki scolded him. He picked up a small polaroid camera from his table of tools and took several photos of Hiei's arm. Hiei glared balefully at him the entire time.
He knew that these checkups were necessary but he hated them all the same. They were uncomfortable and invasive.
Ichigaki set the camera back down and Hiei rolled the sleeve of his black shirt down, hiding the black stains on his skin.
"Were there any problems with your abilities?" Ichigaki asked. He picked up his notepad and began writing on it as Hiei answered.
"No," he said shortly.
"No pain?" Ichigaki inquired, glancing briefly up at Hiei's face before returning his attention to his notes.
"No," Hiei snapped.
"Good, good." Ichigaki said distractedly.
"Can I go?" Hiei demanded.
Ichigaki looked up at him, meeting Hiei's crimson glare with no sign of being intimidated.
"Of course," he said. "But please come back if you experience anything unusual or - "
Hiei was out of the room before Ichigaki could even finish his sentence, the door swinging shut behind him with a loud bang.
He stood in the stark white hall outside the examination room and breathed a sigh of relief. The antiseptic smell of the room lingered in the air around him, even though the door was shut. He despised that smell. It brought back so many horrific memories.
Hiei strode down the hall, ignoring the doors he passed. Some were open, casting rectangles of bright light into the hall. Faint voices floated into his ears. Hiei didn't look inside the rooms. He was not at all curious about what they contained. His nightmares were black enough as it was. He didn't need to be privy to someone else's nightmares as well.
He entered the elevator and tapped a number on the pad. It began to rise, the ride smooth and quiet. Hiei tapped his foot impatiently. Three floors up the doors slid open and Hiei entered another white hall. This one was carpeted and there was no trace of the antiseptic smell that had permeated the lower floor of the building.
Hiei passed several people in business suits as he made his way down the hall but none of them acknowledged him. Some did give him curious glances though. Hiei knew that he looked out-of-place in this part of the building. Unlike the people he was passing, he was not wearing a suit. He was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt and dark jeans. His hair was spiked up and had a white starburst in it. A bandana kept his hair from flopping into his eyes. He looked like a street punk, not a salary man.
Hiei stopped in front of a closed door and entered without knocking. The man sitting behind the large desk raised his head and frowned at him.
"Knock next time," he said by way of greeting.
Hiei sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and placed his boots on the surface, crossing his legs at the ankles. The frown on the other man's aristocratic face deepened.
"When do I get my money?" Hiei asked flatly.
"It has already been transferred to your bank account," his boss, Yomi informed him. "You handled that job well," he admitted, his tone grudging. "I wish all of our employees were so efficient."
"What now?" Hiei asked.
"I have another assignment for you," Yomi told him, sliding a folder over to him. Hiei picked it up curiously, his fingers tracing the raised dots on the bottom corner of the folder. He knew that those dots meant something to Yomi but they were indecipherable to Hiei. He was a little disappointed at not being granted any time off but he supposed it wasn't like he had any pressing plans. He began to look through the pages.
"Wait," he said, pausing and looking back up at Yomi.
"Hmm?" the dark haired man asked. He wore sunglasses, despite the fact that they were indoors. For anyone else, it would have been considered rude, but Yomi was blind, as Hiei was well aware. He wasn't sure if Yomi hid his eyes to protect them from bright light or if he hid them to spare others from seeing the damage, but Hiei didn't care enough to ask. He stared into the shiny black surface of the glasses, seeing his own face faintly reflected there.
"This is an abduction contract," he complained. "That's not what I do."
"I understand that," Yomi said, steepling his fingers. "But this is a very important matter and I need someone who is trustworthy to handle it."
Hiei regarded the sharp-faced man with a frown, then looked back down at the papers in his lap.
"I suppose I can do it," he finally said. How hard could it be?
"Excellent," Yomi said, pleased. "I knew I could count on you, Hiei. You have never let me down."
Hiei thought he was laying it on a bit thick but chose not to say anything. He didn't do his job out of any sense of loyalty to Yomi or the company he worked for, the shadowy organisation known only as the Syndicate. He did it because it was a matter of survival. The Syndicate had raised him and he had no idea what he would do without their support. One could even say that they had created him.
"I'll get back to you when it's done, like usual," Hiei told Yomi. He stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He held the file tucked under his arm as he walked.
Minamino Shuichi. Who was he and what had he done to come to the attention of the Syndicate? Whoever he was, Hiei mused, he was certainly an unlucky bastard.
